Kojak Moments 2: I'm in Charge
by Latebloomnriter
Summary: Capt. McNeil sets the record straight.


I'm in Charge

Capt. McNeil sets the record straight

Note: To the best of my knowledge and belief, this story is fair use of copyrighted material, as there is no commercial use and no loss of potential market or value of the original material will occur.

People who think Theo Kojak runs my precinct know nothing about leadership. What I care about is results-solving cases with evidence which leads to convictions, and with as little wear and tear as is possible on a cop in this city. As a captain, I have to rely on my lieutenants to oversee the details of the investigations and manage the officers and detectives under their command.

So, by managing my lieutenants, I'm indirectly looking after their direct subordinates. Keeping Theo Kojak on track, to get the best out of him, is how I get the best results from the others.

His style is not my style, I'll be the first to admit. I tend to keep things calm, reassure the guys to keep them functioning, and measure my tone when I give direction. It's how I supervised Theo coming up through the ranks. He was a hothead-still is-and my low-key style was what he needed to get the job done.

There is always an awkward period when someone gets promoted over his colleagues. It affects the relationship. Some resent it and can't handle it. For others, even if they were friends, a new formality has to come in and the buddy "Theo" becomes "Lieutenant" or "Sir," at least in public. I watched the squad of detectives change when Theo became lieutenant, as he drove the ones who couldn't handle his personality as a leader to transfer or retire. In time, he got most of a squad who tolerate his style, or who at least learned how to avoid getting on his bad side.

Theo has always been a bit of a bully. As a younger cop and detective he would run roughshod over any other cop, even those with seniority over him, through force of personality. Yet he also has shown more compassion over the years than anyone else I have known. I think both traits go hand in hand. He can only maintain that compassion on the job if he has an outlet for his aggression, his intensity. I don't think Theo himself understands all of this.

Stavros gets it. He and Theo have been friends for years, sharing the Greek culture and after-hours time. The names that Theo calls him carry over from their early times and Stavros takes it all very calmly, knowing it to be a sign of affection. He isn't enough though, to absorb all of Theo's sound and fury. Enter Crocker.

Crocker came to us as a detective before his rookie year as a beat cop ended. I had some reservations because he was so damn young. But Theo insisted early on that the kid had real promise and he would work closely with him to realize that potential. I'd heard that Crocker could be a hothead, and I had some doubts about one hothead mentoring another hothead with good results.

Theo was and is hard on him, whether he deserves it or not, whether it's about him or something else about the case they are working on. Sometimes I'm reminded of a big dog we used to have with his favorite chew toy: always kept close at hand, but subject to rough treatment. I've seen some of the other cops flinch and mutter that they're glad they're not in those shoes when Theo lets loose on Crocker. But Crocker is a tough kid, and he takes whatever Kojak throws his way, though I've seen him grit his teeth a few times. The arrangement works: Theo has his outlet, and Crocker absorbs not only Theo's teachings but learns to keep his own temper in check. It's in check most of the time anyway. Crocker is the only cop on the squad Theo occasionally allows to snap back at him with impunity. People who see them don't get the relationship at first, but there is a strong, loyal bond there.

Theo is in my office now, demanding that we put more resources into a lead he wants to follow on the latest case that has personally gotten to him. I put on my worried captain's face and point out the problems, until he makes the right point to justify the request. I agree to support him, and he leaves in the frame of mind I need him to be in to follow the case to the end.

I'm in charge.


End file.
